1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to fingerprint sensing technology of a fingerprint sensor to be used, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for authenticating whether a fingerprint of a subject is forged or falsified by using a waveform reflected from the subject, such as a wave signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, various means are used to confirm an identity of an individual in a wide range of fields including portable devices such as smart phones and laptops, access management systems in buildings, and financial transaction systems. Such an identity verification means is required to ensure security from a third party's infringement in addition to promptness and convenience of use.
In a conventional security system, an authentication method for recognizing biometric characteristics of an individual and comparing the biometric characteristics with data stored in advance is mainly used. The most commonly used authentication method using an individual's biometric characteristics is a personal authentication method using a fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor has various advantages such as ease of use, accuracy, low cost and the like, compared to a password input or other complicated biometrics technologies.
As is known, identity recognition technology using a fingerprint sensor includes a fingerprint input device and a signal processing algorithm. General fingerprint sensor technology includes the steps of emitting light or sound waves, recognizing the shape of the surface of a subject having ridges and valleys, and comparing it with the previously stored biometric data to authenticate whether the subject is the same person.
However, as the usability and popularity of the fingerprint increase, the personal information is frequently stored or verified through the fingerprint authentication. Thus, if the fingerprint is forged or falsified and the authentication system is disabled, the damage may be extensive.
Therefore, apart from an algorithm for performing comparison to determine whether an image of the recognized fingerprint belongs to a specific person, there is a need for a technique for separately determining and authenticating whether the fingerprint is forged or falsified. In particular, this authentication technique should be able to improve the accuracy of forgery/falsification determination without causing excessive algorithm complexity or user inconvenience.